Hosts and top seeds, Portugal will meet Romania in the Rugby Europe Under 19 Semi Finals after beating the Netherlands by 17 – 3 at the Estadio Nacional do Jamor in Lisbon.

The Netherlands saw plenty of the ball throughout but struggled to breach a stubborn Portugese defence. Penalties for both sides dominated the scoreboard until midway through the second half when replacement Joao Granate collected a clever chip to outpace the Dutch defence and touch down for 14-3. A late drop goal from fly half Jorge Abecasis sealed the win for Portugal who move on to play Romania who demolished Poland by 87-0.

Poland will have to up their game significantly against the Netherlands on Wednesday. The Dutch saw plenty of the ball against Portugal and will hope to capitalise on possession and turn it into more points however, we can expect the proud Poles will be keen to deliver a vastly improved performance in the second round of matches.

Elsewhere, Spain beat Germany 11-0 in the first match of the day with an early try from Number 8 Cosmin Matei and two penalties from centre Andrea Rabago. Spain will now face Russia who defeated Belgium by 22-13 in an entertaining and physical final match of the day.